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readyforhome
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We are first time buyers looking to buy a single-family house in Los Angeles county (San Fernando Valley). What is the best month or season to buy during a year where we have better negotiation power? As prices are going down, when should we buy and how much below asking price should we offer?
Thank you

July 21 2007 - US

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Robin Lynch, "robin398"
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Robin Lynch, "robin398"

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Buyer's or seller's market?

Is your town a buyer's or a seller's market? Since real-estate is local and housing markets' strengths may vary from city to city, keep an eye on these clues to determine how housing sales are faring in your neighborhood.

ook at the amount of time (per the current sales pace) it would take to sell all the homes currently up for sale -- you can get this information from your real-estate broker or on sites like Trulia.com. Less than 6.5 months is a seller's market; more than 6.5 months is a buyer's market.

? Compare how many days it takes to sell a home against say, six months ago to see if the amount has risen or decreased. (You can also obtain this info from your real-estate broker.) If homes generally take less than a month to sell, it's a seller's market. More than 90 days is a buyer's market.

? Pick a handful of local homes that are on the market and track them weekly. If you notice frequent price cuts, exclamation signs in their real-estate listings or multiple open houses, the market is probably weak.

Top cities for home sellers

Which city has the most favorable housing market for homeowners looking to sell? Raleigh, N.C., according to a Forbes.com study, which features a slideshow of its top-rated metros. The Web site looked at cities' supply versus demand ratio and evaluated factors like current sales rates, changes in those rates and price stability. Data from Moody's Economy.com and the National Association of Realtors was used. Positive factors boosting Raleigh's housing market are a lack of a significant inventory glut and a healthy local economy, Forbes.com says. San Francisco was ranked as the second-best U.S. seller's market, followed by Austin, Texas; San Antonio; St. Louis; Houston; Portland, Ore.; Dallas; Denver and Baltimore. While Seattle is generally a favorable market for home sellers, there was insufficient data to include that city in its ratings, Forbes.com says.

Coping with contingencies

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July 21 2007

readyforhome
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We have been tracking in our area and houses are taking longer to sell. There are also a lot of reduction in price, short sales and foreclosures.

My question is; is the housing market seasonal. For example, are there more sales in summer (June, July, Aug.) vs winter (Nov. Dec.)????

See original question.

Thank you

July 22 2007

Robin Lynch, "robin398"
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Robin Lynch, "robin398"

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Serious buyers come out in the winter months. During the spring everybody comes out to look but not necessarily buy because the long hard winter is over.

July 22 2007

genevalley
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Hi, Robin398,
Thanks for sharing! I am wondering if 'Serious buyers come out' means there will be a seller market? And If I want to buy a new home, the winter is good or not, because serious buyers come out?

Thank you!

July 22 2007

Robin Lynch, "robin398"
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Robin Lynch, "robin398"

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During the winter, people looking for homes are those that are serious about buying. There may be fewer lookers and homes on the market, but the ave rage sale time remains the same winter or spring - about 90 days. But more and more people are choosing to move after the school year has begun in September, especially over the age of 45, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. First time buyers and trade up buyers split the market, and each group has non-traditional members who are gaining an increasing hold in buyer demographics. The empty nester, for example, has shown a preference for moving in late fall or late winter. Many of these buyers who are in "tight" real estate markets are actively looking for homes during the holidays and they are serious.
Between singles, empty nesters and non-traditional couples, there is little incentive to rush into home buying during the spring and summer months, when prices are at their highest and when services such as movers, window treatment installers and landscapers are the most difficult to obtain. To these buyers, the winter months pose an advantage, when they can obtain customer-hungry services without the pressure of competing families.

Winter is the ideal time to negotiate a home. Because the trees are stripped of their leaves and shrubs are less full, the buyer can actually see more of the home during the winter months. If the home shows well during the cold, buyers are confident that it will be beautiful in warm weather.

July 22 2007

NewHomeNotebook
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NewHomeNotebook

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Uh, Robin - the question was about LA / the Valley. Trees aren't stripped of their leaves in LA.

July 22 2007

teardowns dotcom, "Teardowns.com"
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teardowns dotcom, "Teardowns.com"

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For some reason, here in CT we saw heightened activity in our office around the holidays... perhaps because there was less inventory on the market at that time? Who knows - we were just glad to have it!

July 22 2007

Charley Tabbara, "Orange CountyRealtor"
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Charley Tabbara, "Orange CountyRealtor"

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Generally in southern california home sales start to slow down during mid sep. Why? Because school just got in and the holidays are just around the corner. Oct and Nov would be a good time to buy. Reason being a lot of people are contemplating christmas gifts and seem to forget about everything else during the holiday season! The real estate market ussually starts to get more activity during the spring. But most of our activity is during the summer. In simple terms less people searching for homes during Oct-Dec means you have an edge. Being a buyers market is a plus aswell. Too bad we don't get a white Christmas in Southern California. Instead its santa on a surfboard.

July 22 2007

Robin Lynch, "robin398"
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Robin Lynch, "robin398"

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Winter months will bring the serious buyers out even if they live in California or Florida. Serious buyers will brave the elements or cool weather to find a home.

July 23 2007

Aldreth
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Best time to buy would be 2012 by most predictions.

July 24 2007

VicenteFox
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I need one of those Magic 8-balls. Everyone seems to want to know WHEN some given market will peak or trough. You think the "experts" can predict this with any specific accuracy? NO.

Think of it more like the weatherman. On 80% of days with conditions like we believe will exist tomorrow, it rained. The further out you get than tomorrow, the larger the error in the prediction.

When is the right time for YOU to buy is:
1) When you find the right house
2) When you have enough money
3) When the mortgage + carrying costs are fairly close to renting something of equivalent value.

It can be some percentage higher, but if it's multiples of rental rates well I suppose it is legal to be insane here.

July 24 2007

Fictional Agent
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I know someone who owns many investment properties. He always seems to get them at a great price, and he always writes his offer between Christmas and New Years.

Of course, this is not a realistic time to buy for most people, especially those relocating from other areas. The right time to buy a house is when you can afford it, and you find something you love. Before you write your offer, have your REALTOR(r) run a CMA and study recent comparable. If you feel the list price is high, then don't be afraid to start the negotiations below the list price. Good luck!

July 24 2007

Robin Lynch, "robin398"
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Robin Lynch, "robin398"

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Although winter historically seems the time when serious buyers come out of hibernation to buy, I am finding that now, which is extremely busy for me. School in NY (Westchester County) starts in September. I have people who are seriously looking to buy before the end of August. Many of the condos that were on the market in June have been sold already.

July 24 2007

VicenteFox
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Offer 60% below asking in LA. That's closer to the real value of most real estate in the area. Anything else is a wishing price hanging over from 2005, kind of like that song you just can't get out of your head.

July 25 2007

Aldreth
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Doom and gloom? How about facts. Do some research before you say anything.

ALT-A Arms are defaulting quicker than the subprimes... Which NO-ONE reports on.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aeWSvfvHw3cQ&refer=home

Because if anyone knew that the Alt-A club was having even worse problems than the subprime market they might wake up. How about the two Bear Stearns Hedge Fund that both went broke?

OR how about the new guidelines for mortgages.....
"The new guidelines demanded that any mortgage containing an interest-only feature be underwritten at the highest possible interest rate or subsequent amortizing payment, and that any mortgage containing a negative-amortizing feature (an option ARM) be underwritten at the highest possible balance and interest-rate adjustment."

Then with that fact you could look at this...
http://www.autodogmatic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=280&highlight=resets

I think doom and gloom is needed to get people to wake up.

or how about just looking at this page for one second... btw RED is BAD... Green is good :)
http://housing-watch.com/home.aspx

July 25 2007

Charlie Mader, "chasmader"
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Charlie Mader, "chasmader"

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Between Thanksgiving and New Year's is the best time to buy in most markets.

Properties which are on the market during these months are being sold because they have to be. Some are under dealines to be sold by year end (court orders, etc) which means you can come in low.

Summer is usually the best time to sell.

July 25 2007

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